The Art of Doing Nothing: a feminist manifesto

The Art of Doing Nothing: a feminist manifesto is about listening to yourself and the world around you. About saving power to explode with power.

It is not about doing nothing. It is a proposal for navigating choice and making sense of your own place in a chaotic world; to not always swim against the current, but sometimes let yourself be carried on the waves. It is a personal vision on how to be wrong, how to sink into doubt, how to embrace the magical space of not knowing.

The piece celebrates soft, ‘feminine’ qualities like intuition, vulnerability and emotionality, and leans into the empowerment and freedom that comes with giving space to them. In a world where these strengths are seen as weak and inferior, The Art of Doing Nothing becomes a necessarily feminist act, a radical antidote to patriarchal norms of certainty and hierarchical power.

Guided by intimate yet absurd texts, Stephanie Pan and Ensemble Klang lure you onto a sonic roller-coaster that dives and soars through lush dramatic song, fragile delicate soundscapes, chaos, post-punk noise, and pounding tekno beats.

Credits:

Concept, music, text & voice:  Stephanie Pan

performed with:  Ensemble Klang (Saskia Lankhoorn – keys and backing vox; Pete Harden – guitars; Anton van Houten – trombone; Erik-Jan de With & Michiel van Dijk – saxophones; Joey Marijs – percussion)

Live sound:  Tom Giles
Lighting & video:  Pavla Beranová
Conceptual advice:  Snejanka Mihaylova
Project image:  Chaja Hertog

Photos: Tessa Veldhorst / De Schaapjesfabriek except those marked Judith Zandwijk